Clemson has its Starting Center for Saturday

Heading into Saturday’s season opener against No. 1 Georgia, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney feels good about the functional depth that the 14 ^th -ranked Tigers have up front on the offensive line.

In his final media availability of the week on Wednesday evening following Clemson’s practice, Swinney was asked about the offensive linemen he trusts to play large roles this season and who he feels most comfortable with beyond the starting five.

“(Collin) Sadler, Harris (Sewell), Tristan Leigh, Marcus Tate, (Ryan) Linthicum, (Walker)  Parks, Blake (Miller)… Trent Howard – those eight guys, I mean, we look at all of those guys as starters,” Swinney said.

Swinney pointed out that all of the aforementioned O-linemen have in fact started for Clemson – with the exception of Linthicum, a redshirt junior center.

Swinney then revealed that Linthicum – a former four-star prospect from Maryland, who enters this season having played 103 offensive snaps over nine career games from 2021-23 – will get his first career start on Saturday.

“The only one that hasn’t started is Linthicum,” Swinney said of the 6-foot-3, 305-pounder. “He’s fixing to get his first start.”

“So, we feel comfortable with all eight of those guys being able to play, and they all have experience,” Swinney added.

In addition to those eight, Swinney also noted the progress of a trio of other offensive linemen – redshirt junior Dietrick Pennington, and true freshmen Elyjah Thurmon and Mason Wade.

“Dietrick has gotten better. Elyjah has really demonstrated that we’re going to be able to count on him. Mason Wade is coming along,” Swinney said. “So, you’ve got 10 or 11 guys there that we think are very functional for us.”

Saturday’s Aflac Kickoff Game between Clemson and Georgia in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium is set to kick off at 12 p.m. and will be nationally televised on ABC.

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